Steel Path
by Macross-Green
Summary: What would happen if things at the Academy weren't quite the same as they normally were? And what if one kunoichi, normally forgotten, is given some screen time? Rated T for safety. Pairings undetermined as of yet. Please review.
1. Chapter 1

The Steel Path

by macross_green

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto (the setting, characters, etc).

**Author's Note**: This is almost immediately an AU story, of course. However, it will follow, more or less, the canon setting. There will be a few rather large changes, however, so be warned. Though this is an AU story, my Naruto will not be super-powered or exceptionally intelligent. Considering I typically find him to be below average when it comes to intelligence (but rather good at spontaneous bursts of insight and tactics), I will be showing him as being a tad more intelligent than his manga-self. However, I am sad to report that a fair amount of this will be a bit of a retread, so I apologize in advance for not basing this story further on in the storyline. You have been warned.

"So, when's your birthday?" the voice of one of the teachers asked, and the normally alert student blinked. The teacher wasn't looking at that student, however- instead, the teacher was looking at a young blonde boy that had started school only days ago. She wasn't sure what to make of the kid- he was short, his orange jumpsuit was unzipped down almost to the midchest. The kid just sat there, almost staring past the teacher before actually looking up and his eyes widened. "Well?" the teacher asked, and one could easily hear the annoyance in her voice.

"What does it matter?" the kid mumbled, glancing away as he just crossed his arms on the desk. The teacher shook her head and looked away.

"It matters because I plan to celebrate the birthdays you kids have with the class. This is your homeroom, after all, we can have a little party once in a while this year." There were a few cheers from the other students at that information, and the woman smirked. "Not all the time, however. If your birthday isn't during the school week, there's not going to be a party. So, Uzumaki..." and the teacher turned back around to face the boy. "When is it?"

"On the weekend, huh?" the boy told himself, and then shrugged. "What's it matter? There won't be school that day, so I won't say it." The teacher sighed.

"Fine. Let's see... you were the last one on the list..."

"Dead-last!" one voice popped up, much to the delight of the other students. Even the normally stoic Hyuuga in the room let a smile creep onto his face for that one, and the Nara boy just cracked a little grin right there and then. Naruto shrugged off the type of attention he didn't care that much for, but glared at the boy that had said that all the same.

The teacher went off to deal with that troublemaker, and in the interim many of the students had begun to talk amongst one another. The drumming of fingertips from the part of the desk beside him caught the blonde's attention, and slowly he turned his head so he could see the girl that had been forced to take the seat beside him thanks to the arrangements of the teacher. "What?" he asked miserably, and the black-haired girl smiled in return. She was pretty new here, though he could tell she was a little older than him.

She leaned in close while the uproar in the classroom continued. "You know, they pick on you because you show them that it affects you, Naruto." she told him, and then grinned. "Don't let them get to you. They'll stop bugging you sooner than you think if you do." The boy blinked, and slowly sat back up.

"How?" The girl wasn't quite sure how to respond to that at first, and so adopted a thoughtful look on her face. Naruto just watched her, oddly captivated by the fact that she'd actually spoken to him without being condescending or yelling. Then she nodded, and reached over. He could feel the poke she gave the goggles that he wore on his head as they were pushed down onto his scalp.

"Try smiling?" was the suggestion, and the girl just giggled a bit.

The boy, on the other hand, felt as if he'd just been given a shortcut to becoming the next Hokage. The grin that spread on his face was simply priceless. "Smiling, eh? Thanks, um..." he rubbed the back of his neck lightly as he watched the giggling girl for a moment. She was nice, but he had no clue what her name was! Even if they had been sitting beside each other for a few weeks now, he had no idea. The girl blinked as she realized this herself, and then grinned.

"I'm Tenten."

"Nice to really meet ya, Tenten. Thanks." That cemented it, right there, for the blonde boy. _No pranks for her!_ "Say, want to practice after school?"

The near-feral smile that came to Tenten's face made Naruto start to reconsider the offer made. "You got it."

Needless to say, there were no pranks played by the hyperactive, attention-seeking blonde boy of Konoha that evening.

***

A year passed, and the various grades of those in the class slowly filtered each of the students into various categories of 'worthiness' in the eyes of the teachers. At the forefront were the exceptional students, such as the haughty Hyuuga boy that was expected to graduate during the next academy exam. Tenten was the second highest ranked kunoichi and in the same year as the Hyuuga, so she was often hanging around him and his group of 'worthies'. Not that there were many of them, to be honest. Only two others than those two, the top two shinobi and kunoichi in the class. The Hyuuga wouldn't have it any other way, and Tenten didn't mind it so much most of the time.

But for Naruto, class-life had passed him quickly by. Though he didn't do too badly when he tried to do something, it was his lack of true motivation that kept him with that same nickname that had been blurted out a year ago. Along with his fellow dead-lasts (Shikamaru, Chouji, along with Kiba and Akamaru), they skipped class all the time and hung out at the kunai practicing area all the time in order to escape the wrath of their various teachers. Distracted as well by his interest in the Haruno girl, dead-last became the most annoying person in the academy according to all but one of his instructors. It was a unanimous decision when, a month later, that the classes would be split up. The older students would receive more specialized instruction and preparation, while the younger students that would take a little more time to learn and graduate would be placed under Iruka Umino.

The split was announced the same day.

"And so, as a result of the teacher's meeting, we will be dividing this class in two." Iruka stated. The female teacher, Taya Onbato, looked on as she leaned against a clean portion of the green chalkboard behind them both. "All students who are over 12 years old will be leaving with Onbato-sensei, and the rest of you will remain in this classroom with me. As a result, this is the last day that you will be all together in class, so say good bye today. Onbato-san, is there anything you'd wish to add?"

The woman looked around at the students and then shook her head. "Nothing at all, Umino-san. It will be good to be able to focus on fewer students rather than a large number of them this year." The woman turned to leave, and one of the students gasped as a good portion of green chalk lifted with her clothes as she moved away from the chalkboard. Completely unaware, the teacher left, much to the surprise of the others still in the room. Naruto could barely hide a grin, but did so... though there was one particular person watching him with a completely unsuppressed grin.

Iruka just turned back to the rest of the class with a shake of his head. "You can now spend the rest of the afternoon on your own. Free time, but don't leave the grounds. Naruto Uzumaki, I will see you in the conference room in five minutes." the remaining sensei stated, not asked, and Naruto's head fell from it's previous position of pride into one of impending doom. The laughter that erupted within the classroom just made his shoulders slump even more. Iruka stared down at the blonde for a few seconds before heading out the door to the room across the hall, and Naruto groaned.

"Hey, where's that smile at, Naruto?" he heard from a familiar voice, and the boy looked up to see Tenten there with a slight grin on her face. She wasn't the only student up and talking, as most everyone had done so with their own groups. The older Hyuuga sat in place across the room, staring at the one-year-younger Hyuuga, who was attempting to at least perfect some sort of invisibility jutsu, if one noted just how she attempted to hide herself away from the others in the room. A quartet of young ladies surrounded the one Uchiha in the room, hidden away towards the back of the room and with his back to the wall in what seemed to be an obvious effort to keep anyone from being able to sneak up on him... or to at least keep himself from being surrounded by his adoring fans. The blonde shrugged.

"You're getting stuck with Onbato-sensei, Tenten." he bitterly commented, and the girl just shook a finger. Already 12 years old, the girl hadn't yet hit puberty... but it couldn't be too much longer. There were signs of other girls in the class changing already. Neji had even hit a bit of a growth spurt already, and a few others weren't too far behind either. Naruto couldn't help but to smile at her.

"That's better. And yeah, I guess I'm stuck with her until I graduate." she responded, and then glanced to the door. "You better get to Iruka-sensei. I wouldn't want to keep him waiting, and the sooner you get it over with the better, right?" Tenten leaned in. "Besides, we haven't sparred this week yet, so get this done fast."

Swallowing, Naruto looked at her wide-eyed and nodded. "Alright, see ya when I escape Iruka then!" and with that, the blonde went to go and accept his 'fate'.

Tenten shook her head even as she noticed a boy in a brown coat walk down from what was once considered the 'dead-last' side of the room. The single-braided black hair that was fell to just past his shoulders, large eyebrows that hovered above eyes that suggested that he was wearing glasses (when in fact, they were merely really freakin' huge eyes) had left the boy mostly shunned by most of the serious ninja in training in the room. The fact that he was routinely the very dead-last in almost every grade he got in the various ninja arts made it obvious that he either had a disability or this was just his way of getting out of doing chores and jobs at home.

_Rock Lee_, she reminded herself. The poor guy couldn't use even the most basic ninjutsu or genjutsu techniques, but she knew that his taijutsu was actually quite decent for anyone their age. Though often ridiculed, she knew that he was respected during taijutsu practices and he had her respect as well- she had defeated him once, before he had begun practicing almost non-stop. The second time was merely two months ago, and she had met defeat that time herself. In a full spar, he had yet to defeat her, but with the rate that his form was improving she had no doubt that it was merely a matter of time. When he spoke to Neji, the Hyuuga spared the boy a glance and then nodded once before Lee grinned, challenging him to a spar.

The two left the room, and Tenten shook her head. _Boys will be boys_.

***

"So, Tenten, you plan to go to the academy today? Why?" Neji asked his teammate. A year had passed since her team had graduated the academy, and being given Gai-sensei as their team-leader. She shrugged a little as Gai led Lee through several cool-down exercises... ones that would make others think that the two were actually working out intensely. That wasn't happening at the moment- but it had happened for several hours earlier that very day, after their D-rank mission had taken place. The two were sprawled out on the grass, worn out after the intense training exercises that Gai had put them through earlier that day. Catching the damned cat took far more out of them than most would think, and more than one team considered the possibility that the cat was actually some sort of demon in disguise.

"Today's the day that more students graduate, Neji. I hear that Uchiha-guy is this year's top rookie, like you were last year." Tenten replied, and the Hyuuga's eyes almost imperceptibly narrowed.

"You want to go back to see who graduated... allow me to guess. You think your friend, the 'would-be' Hokage will be among them?" Neji snorted at the nod that Tenten gave him. "Unlikely. He's a loser. Dead-last last year... other than Lee, that is. Dead-last this year, I would think. Even Hinata is stronger than that idiot, and she's weaker than the Uchiha." the cruel young man shook his head. It was one point that was drilled not only into his head, but into the head of every Hyuuga in Konoha- Hinata, the would-be heiress of the clan, was the weakest kunoichi the clan had likely ever produced since the beginning of their very bloodline. Granted, the Uchiha were once a prominent, proud, and powerful clan, but this Uchiha was the last. And the head of the Hyuuga, Hiashi-sama, did not take second-place to anyone, for any reason, lightly.

And Tenten knew it.

"He's been working hard. And look, Lee graduated without being able to use genjutsu or ninjutsu." she retaliated, and the Hyuuga shrugged.

"True, I suppose, though he is still this team's weak link. How he graduated from the academy with us, I still cannot fathom. Still, he at least has proven useful at times. Perhaps you might be right, Tenten, but I still believe that even should he graduate, dead-last is still dead-last." Neji smirked. "And if that is the case, then it is likely that Uzumaki will be on the same team as that Uchiha. That sounds like their fate to me. And should we ever meet, I am certain that I can defeat the Uchiha."

Tenten giggled, and Neji looked at her almost as if she'd farted instead. She waved a hand playfully. "Sorry, I just remembered yesterday's chase. I still can't believe Naruto managed to outrun and escape the ANBU and jounin all over the village." Neji twitched at the memory of it, the young man remembering how he had somehow wandered into the path of many of Naruto's pursuers and had had to scramble out of their way before it was too late. Even with his vaunted, prideful eyes, he had to admit that the boy had become rather skilled when it came to escapes and running. The way Uzumaki managed to take the time to say hello to Tenten was just a bit disconcerting, to say the least.

"It was fate, Tenten, that let Umino-san catch Uzumaki rather than the ANBU." Neji conceded after a moment of thought. She shrugged. "Perhaps you should try using those tarot cards of yours to do a reading for him sometime. Fate likely has something to say about his immediate future." The Hyuuga nodded again. "Perhaps the Death card might pop up. For a dead-last, the end of a struggle such as his to become a real ninja would be perhaps the kindest event fate could give to him."

Little did Neji know that Tenten had already done such a thing for her ex-classmate, but she shrugged. Fortune-telling took many shapes, but there was one thing that Neji didn't grasp about the concept. Likely, it was due to the clan that he came from, but for some reason she couldn't help but to wonder just how someone on the same team as Lee, someone who shouldn't have been able to graduate without performing ninjutsu or genjutsu... had done just that. Fate only takes people so far, and she knew it. But none had ever been able to get him to truly accept that. _Some day, maybe..._

Finally, Tenten slowly stood up and stretched. "Tenten, are you ready to train some more?" Lee exclaimed, even as he finished his 97th push-up. Tenten turned back to look at him, the buns in her hair almost threatening to unravel as she shook her head quickly.

"No! Gai-sensei, pardon me. Is our training over for the day, or is there another exercise that you'd like to introduce to us today?" she asked, and Gai looked thoughtful for a moment.

"A good question. No, just practice the chakra control exercises I gave you scrolls for while you are at home and think about the power of youth, Tenten-chan! Neji, you may go along as well if you wish. Lee, let us do a quick ten laps around Konoha before we finish for the day." Lee cried out in excitement and the two were off with a flurry of dust kicked up behind their running forms.

"See you tomorrow, Neji-san."

"Hai."

The two departed, one towards the Hyuuga compound. That one couldn't wait to hear how badly Hinata had done in the exam today when he got back to the house. It was all but certain that the girl wouldn't be able to meet her father's lofty aspirations for the would-be heiress of the clan. It wouldn't even matter if she was the top kunoichi of her class, he knew. The girl was far too timid, meek, and overall weak in the family's taijutsu to be taken seriously by the clan as a whole. A smile crept onto his face as he wandered back towards his home.

The other walked from the training grounds toward the ninja academy. She was just hoping that her friend could produce a bunshin- he had managed a henge a week ago after staying up for three days straight, practicing it. How he had managed it, she didn't even want to think about, let alone know. It couldn't have been easy... right? She hadn't had nearly as much trouble producing a mizu bunshin as he wound up having with just a simple transformation technique like a henge. Still, she had no doubts that he'd be able to pass the taijutsu portion of the exam. Ninjutsu, such as henge and the bunshin were a different thing altogether. And she didn't have a clue about his genjutsu abilities, but he'd never complained about being unable to use them since figuring out the henge technique. The academy didn't really teach genjutsu either, but did give basic lessons on dispelling them anyway.

Upon arrival, there were a bunch of adults with their kids there. She couldn't see Naruto anywhere in the courtyard where most of the students were showing off their new, shiny hitai-ite to proud parents or guardians. The smile she had on her face faltered as she walked past a brooding Sasuke Uchiha, who merely held the hitai-ite in his hand as he headed towards the training grounds. There wasn't a scowl on the boy's face... which was an improvement, at any rate. For once, there was no sign of the boy being followed by his adoring girls, and out of the bunch that she remembered from the year before, only two were visible as they talked excitedly with their parents. Both Yamanaka and Haruno were chattering away as they talked with their mothers, the former's father likely on a mission while the later's father was probably working... well, wherever it was that he worked. She had mentioned before that neither of her parents were ninja, so that left that out.

Tenten shook her head, stepping past the Nara's boy and father, who just leaned against the school's walls for a good view at the clouds overhead. Movement to her right got her attention, and it was a wiry older man with a Konoha hitai-ite on his forehead. It took her a moment to remember that it was a teacher that she'd only known for a few months before she had graduated, and the name escaped her for a moment before it suddenly came to mind. _Mizuki-san._ She nodded to herself as she looked in the direction that the man was gazing, and there under the tree, away from most of the others, was the boy she'd come to check up on. The downcast look on his face told the tale, and her smile fell completely as she sighed. _I'm sorry, Naruto. We should have spent more time on anything other than taijutsu and genjutsu._

Then she noticed Iruka-san with Hokage-sama not too far away, somehow almost ignored by the others near them. _What's the Hokage doing here? And he seems to be looking at Naruto. I wonder..._ Tenten shrugged, and looked back to the boy as he got off the swing that was suspended in the air by one of the tree branches above his head. She glanced back to where she had seen her old sensei and the Third Hokage, but both had simply vanished. Even as she started to walk after Naruto, her attention was drawn to Mizuki-san as he followed the blonde troublemaker from the school grounds. _Well, I guess someone other than Iruka's being nice to him for a change. That's good._ Tenten smiled, and then was tapped on the shoulder by someone. Turning around, she found herself faced by Hinata, who smiled a little and let her hand fall to her side. "Hello, Hyuuga-san." she said, noticing the hitai-ite tied around the younger girl's neck. "Congratulations!"

The smile that the timid Hyuuga gave her almost made Tenten sigh. _I can't believe she's related to Neji. She's definitely in the wrong clan if she's so obviously sad about graduating, rather than happy like everyone else. Neji's going to enjoy this too much._

"Uh, um... Tenten-senpai, why were you watching N-Naruto-kun?" the hesitant girl asked her, and Tenten smiled a bit.

"I was hoping he'd graduate today and I could take him out for some ramen for dinner after a spar. You know, to celebrate? Looks like that's not gonna happen, though." Tenten shrugged, glancing back in the direction that Naruto and Mizuki had disappeared in before looking back to Hinata. "What about you? I see you graduated. Where's your father?"

The younger girl's face flushed and she looked away, muttering something under her breath in a voice so quiet that Tenten couldn't quite hear her. Then she spoke up a bit. "I do not think that f-father will be c-coming today. I will g-give him m-my report when I return h-home. S-soon, of c-course." she said, looking back up to meet Tenten's eyes with a small smile. _Forced smiles... Looks like she and Naruto have something in common._ Tenten considered her for a moment and then nodded.

"Do you have to be home soon? If you'd like, let's go get a snack. My treat, okay?" Hinata's face went crimson and Tenten smiled. "Alright, let's go. If your father asks, just tell him the truth... and if Neji bothers you, just tell me." she whispered to the younger girl, one hand on Hinata's back to turn the meek one around and led her into the village to a shop she knew from her days at the academy. It was close to her father's smithy, which was pretty much perfect for a Genin with fairly low income, despite the past year's worth of various D- and C-rank missions.

_I just hope Naruto doesn't take this too badly... again._

***

Several hours later, and a somewhat lighter wallet after saying goodbye to Hinata, Tenten found herself on a familiar path heading towards Naruto's apartment. It was getting dark out now, and there looked to be a stormfront slowly moving in as the moon came out from behind the clouds for a moment. A streak of orange headed off over the street, but came to a halt a short distance ahead of the bun-haired girl, revealing a grinning Naruto. "Hey, Tenten! Can't stick around, I gotta go pay the Old Man a visit. See ya later!" and with that, the orange streak of hyperactivity was off before the stunned girl could say a word.

Tenten turned to watch the boy bound off, launching himself up to the rooftops after climbing a bit on a wall, up onto a balcony, and then to high elevations before she could even call after him. The orange speck disappeared into the darkness, despite just how obvious the coloring of his jumpsuit was, and she sighed. _Crazy Naruto. Hope he's not pulling any pranks tonight. Still, good to see him in good spirits now, at least._

Little did she know what the knucklehead was actually going to be doing, as she turned and headed for home. Hopefully, her father hadn't needed her for anything while she'd been out, but he knew her schedule with Gai-sensei was erratic at best anyway.

The next morning brought only the worst of rumors to her ears, even coming from Gai-sensei. _NARUTO, YOU IDIOT!_ The blonde stole a scroll from the Hokage's very own house! "Well, fate has decided... that dead-last will be simply dead, when the ANBU get hold of him." Neji commented after their sensei told the tale. Lee seemed saddened- he knew of this Naruto as a fellow dead-last merely a year ago. Tenten shook her head.

"There's more to this story, I think. Naruto's not the type to steal from the Hokage. He pranks, he causes chaos, and he can be annoying at times, but he wouldn't go against the village." she stated, and even Neji had to give pause to that. Tenten shrugged. "He wants to be the next Hokage, right? Why would he do that?"

"Why do adults hate him? There must be a reason to that as well, Tenten. No one will say why, though." Lee added, and both Neji and Tenten looked at him at the oddly relevant observation. She nodded, and Neji shrugged.

"It's fate, that's all. The Hokage has been lax with that dead-last for a long time, so whether he lives, dies, or is simply kicked out of the academy is all up to fate. Whatever happens, I doubt we will have to deal with him again." Neji stated. It was Tenten's turn to hesitate, but she nodded absently. _I really hope Naruto isn't kicked out. Things would only get worse if he was._

"Alright Team, let's go see the Hokage for today's mission. And perhaps we'll discover what has happened to the youthful Uzumaki that you're so interested in as well." Gai told his team, and everyone filed in behind him as he started jogging towards the Hokage's tower.

Upon arrival at the tower, there was a bit of a commotion at the base of the tall building that Team Gai was quickly in position to see. The Third Hokage stood on the steps leading inside the tower as several Chuunin and Jounin stood watch, forming a semi-circle around the pair before them. One was Umino, and the other was Uzumaki holding a large scroll. And on the blonde's forehead... was a Leaf hitai-ite.

"Old man, here. Sorry to beat you last night to get the scroll, but I just had to graduate. I won't steal from your house again, I swear to Kami I won't." Naruto was saying, and the amused expression on the Hokage's face was priceless, as if this was the funniest thing he'd heard in weeks. Though they couldn't see Iruka's or Naruto's faces, it was quite obvious that both suspected that they'd be in some sort of trouble. A jounin came to take back the pilfered scroll from the 12-year old, who was surprisingly was using his head about the whole thing and using his few manners to boot.

"Naruto, Iruka, thank you for capturing the traitor. Ibiki will be taking care of our guest from now on." the Hokage stated, and he spared a glance to the side, where a sealed Mizuki was held upright and silent by the large, scarred man that was Ibiki Morino. He and his Chuunin subordinate took the captured ninja away, flanked by a pair of jounin that had made up the semi-circle of people that had been a part of the procession in progress before the tower. The old man turned his gaze back to the two before them, and his glance to Iruka's head and then to Naruto's made him nod. "Iruka... he passed the bunshin test, I take it?"

Iruka nodded. "Hai, Hokage-sama. He proved he could pass the bunshin test last night while assisting with the capture of Mizuki." he said, and then winced. "My apologies, Hokage-sama, for not catching Mizuki before he could affect the students.

The third just shook his head. "None are necessary, Iruka. Teachers are supposed to be trusted with the welfare, the teaching of our students, and assisting with the raising of our children to become ninja. We must be better prepared in the future, that is all, for any who might attempt to otherwise sway our precious young people into inadvertently working against their homes. The ANBU shall be assisting in this endeavor from now on. Now, if someone would be so kind as to escort Iruka to the hospital to see about his wounded back? I do have other duties to attend to today, and it seems as if our genin teams are looking eager for their daily missions. Oh, and do remember to have your students come here in two days to have their pictures taken for their ninja identifications, Iruka." The teacher nodded in response this time.

Naruto laughed a little, and then looked to Iruka. "I'll take sensei to the hospital, old man. Don't worry about it." he said, teacher and student sharing a grin before turning to walk away. Naruto blinked as he saw the crowd of ninja that he had kept from getting their missions, a number of them shocked to see that the boy actually survived a confrontation with the Hokage... and survived after stealing from him, no less! Tenten grinned even as both Lee and Gai gave him their customary, trademarked 'Nice Guy!' thumbs up and smile as the pair passed the team. Naruto grinned even more and slapped Iruka on the back, causing the Chuunin to fall forward a bit from the unexpectedly painful blow.

Gai-sensei just shook his head. "Ah, the springtime of youth. Lee, make a note that Naruto Uzumaki is full of the fires of youth!" he commanded, and the shorter bowl-cut boy immediately jotted down that note for his sensei. Neji twitched, and Tenten just shook her head. "Yosh! Now, to get in..." and the jounin sensei just shook his head as everyone that had been watching the Hokage a moment ago rushed into a line for the various missions that would be given out today. "In line."

***

Several hours had passed since the pair's arrival at the hospital. The silence that permeated the air as Iruka lay on his bed was annoying to at least one person that had been allowed into the room. The doctor had tried to tell the boy to get out now that his sensei needed rest, but Iruka had vetoed the idea. Left alone in the hospital room, it didn't take long for Naruto to say something. "Sensei, you're gonna be okay, right?" came an unusually sullen and quiet voice from the boy. Gone was the artificially cheerful face, the ever-present smile. It was without a mask on that Iruka saw the boy this time as he hung his head. The pain medicine was still kicked in, and so the teacher could swear that Naruto had formed a few bunshin as he sat on the nearby chair. But where did the other chairs come from, if that was the case?

"Naruto, I'll be fine. It was just a few stitches, after all. Nothing too serious. The doc says I'll be outta here tomorrow after the medic-nin takes another look in the morning. So relax, get out there and have some fun." Umino told the boy, and then shook his head. "No pranks though. The Hokage still isn't happy about the monument caper two days ago." Naruto had the decency to look at least a little sheepish at that remark.

"Hai, hai. Alright, no pranks for a while, sensei. But just for you. I... I do owe you, after all." Naruto conceded, and then he grinned. "Gama-chan'll hate me for this, but... Tomorrow, Ichiraku's on me, okay sensei?"

"I'll hold you to that, Naruto. Now get outta here, you dang troublemaker!"

Laughing, the blonde got off the chair and practically hopped over to the window, lifting it open to let in a somewhat warm breeze. "See ya tomorrow, Sensei!" and with that, the orange-clad would-be genin took off, landing on the ground with a wide grin as he walked down the street... _Towards Ichiraku's ramen stand._ Iruka thought as he watched his student head down in the general direction of both his crappy little apartment and the one food stand that didn't throw him out immediately because of what he was.

Out on the street, Naruto's grin slowly faltered as he reached up to his hitai-ite and pulled it off his head. Looking at the grimy protector-piece, he used a bit of his not-quite as dirty jumpsuit to try and clean it off, polishing his former-sensei's hitai-ite. _Damn, I think I should go see Tenten's place. I'm sure her dad's got something to clean this thing off better than I can. Not water, though, that can rust._ His course deviated immediately as he looked around. The area around the hospital was one of those places that he unfortunately knew fairly well- most shinobi did, after all, though today was merely his first day actually being one.

The glares he got from everyone else he passed never seemed to cease. Sometimes, he could see himself as just some island in an ocean full of hungry sharks. Sometimes he got hurt whenever he tried to go into the water, to escape that one little island in an effort to find true land on the horizon. _Reality really is a lot like that dream._ Naruto shook his head quickly, dispelling the idea as he caught himself doing exactly what Tenten had told him not to do. Frowning. Quickly, he chuckled and grinned again before he put the hitai-ite into his pocket. It stuck out a little, but most of it was there. _Not really a problem, as long as I don't bump into anyone or lose it. Good to go._

He thought about it for a second. _Well, mostly. Gotta get this thing all cool and shiny for the ceremony. I wonder if I could blind anyone with it if I..._ The grin on his face somehow seemed to get even wider as he contemplated blinding Iruka-sensei with reflected light off his old hitai-ite. Naruto shook his head afterward. _Nah. Iruka-sensei doesn't deserve that. Especially after this morning._ _I hope that bastard Mizuki gets exactly what he deserves! That's what he gets for tricking me!_

"Hey... you're that kid, ain'tcha?" An unfamiliar voice asked, and Naruto glanced around. _Someone actually talked to me?_ The blonde's eyes settled on an older man, probably well into his thirties or maybe his early forties. "Thought so. Not that many blonde kids around, and even fewer goin' around wearing such a dumb color, too." the old man commented, and the boy bit back a growl. The old man wore some sort of red robe and had white hair that fell to just below his shoulders. _I don't know this guy._ Naruto thought to himself as he searched for any ideas as to who this moron could be. There were no tell-tale signs to be had.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki. What's up?" he asked, and the old man spat at the ground between them.

"Respect yer elders, you little bastard. The Hokage might put up with ya, but no one else will. What do you think you're doing in the human part of town anyway? Get outta here, you're stinking up the place." Naruto blinked, and then took a whiff of his jacket- it seemed to be in good condition, though a bit dirty, but it wasn't like it was really dirty, was it? _It doesn't smell... well, not that bad._

The blonde smirked. "Old man, I dunno what the hell you're talkin' about, but I'll think about not kicking your ass into the river for bein' stupid." With that, he continued walking towards Tenten's place, despite knowing that she likely wouldn't be there. The old timer just grunted and shook his head, walking along the path away from the container of the Kyuubi. Naruto kept his facade up until he neared an alleyway and ducked inside of it. After a quick glance around, he shivered. _The old man knows too. Mizuki and Iruka-sensei weren't lying. I really do have a demon inside me._ _Maybe I shouldn't have threatened that guy... I bet the Old Man will hear about this somehow. Damn it!_

Stepping back out of the alleyway after a moment to collect himself, Naruto continued on his way towards Tenten's place- all the while, trying to maintain some distance between himself and the other pedestrians. It was a futile effort, considering almost everyone gave the kyuubi's container a wide berth anyway. At least the rest of his little trek went without a hitch, and soon he was standing outside a rather hot, open-air smithy. Clangs of various tones and volume could be heard, and every so often within the darkened shop there were sparks that flew up when hammer struck heated metal, to shape the metal into its eventual form.

"Ah, the blonde kid that Tenten trains with. Orange outfit, strange tastes, kiddo. So, what brings ya here?" came a voice from beyond a not so dark doorway, which soon revealed a sturdy looking man in his mid-forties. The dark hair cut short, perhaps merely an inch or two long, he looked almost nothing like Tenten. Was he her father?

"Um..." and for once, Naruto hesitated when it came to speaking to someone. This was a new person to him who hadn't threatened him or looked down on him (other than physically). _I don't want to make things weird for Tenten or anything if I can help it. What do I say?_ He heard a grunt, and Naruto looked back up to the taller man, grinning. "Sorry, just trying to get things straight in my head. Basically, I was hoping to find something I could use to clean my hitai-ite for the ninja identification pictures in a couple days. Tenten told me you work in metal here, so I figured you'd have something that'd be good."

The man nodded, and chuckled. "Just a hitai-ite? That's it? What's your name again?"

But before Naruto could respond, another person came up from within the smithy. "His name's Uzumaki, Yenta-san. He's that... one kid." The younger man came around to where Naruto could see him, and the superior look that the newcomer gave him made Uzumaki glare back in response. "We shouldn't be serving someone like him. I still need some help with the details on this..."

The old man shot the younger one a glare, and this time Naruto was surprised. "He is wearing a Leaf hitai-ite. I am obligated to assist Konoha ninja, whether they be genin or Hokage, Isaku. Go get me some solvent oil, and if I hear you suggesting that we deny service to another nin while you're working here... you won't be working here for long. Understood?" Isaku blinked, a shocked look on his face before he nodded and spared Naruto a hate-filled look before turning and doing as he was told. Yenta looked back to the young boy and sighed. "Damned child, that one, and not in the way as I might say the same about you, Uzumaki-kun. Listen, next time come back with Tenten and we can set things straight. That boy will soon be feeling quite the punishment for his words, I guarantee you that. I will not have someone turn down a Leaf ninja when we can be of assistance."

Naruto's jaw, which had dropped, quickly found its way back into place again after a moment, and he grinned before bowing to the old man in appreciation. "Thank you so much, um... Yenta-san?" The old timer nodded and Naruto grinned again. Isaku returned and handed a large bottle of solvent to his superior, who nodded as the younger man retreated into the forge. Yenta smiled.

"Okay, let's see the hitai-ite." Naruto pulled it out of his pocket, and looked at it for a moment before looking back to the seemingly-nice old man. _Can I trust him not to take it and not give it back? Is this all some sort of prank, like what I'd do?_ A second later, he nodded, and set the hitai-ite onto the man's outstretched hand. "Ah, not bad workmanship at all. A little beat up. A hand-me-down?" Naruto was confused about that phrase until he realized what was meant.

"Something like that. My teacher, Iruka-sensei, gave it to me this morning." Naruto explained, and the old man grinned.

"Umino-san? Well, I think I've heard something about that. So that was you, hm?" Yenta remarked, squirting some of the solvent onto the metal portion of the hitai-ite, and then pulling a clean cloth from a nearby drawer to start wiping it down. The grime, small amounts of blood, and whatever else had stained the steel slowly rubbed off at the firm motions of the man's fingers over the forehead protector. "Listen, come back tomorrow and I think we can spare a few things for you. Just don't tell anyone, okay? Least of all, Tenten." The old man grinned as the metal of the hitai-ite began to nearly gleam in the noon-day sunlight.

"Why not?" Naruto had to ask, the urge to do so simply overwhelming the sudden urge he had to yawn as well. Yenta chuckled.

"Because I know you two spar, and I think it'd be good for you to surprise her sometime, rather than the other way around. A father has a right to tease his only daughter, I think." Handing the hitai-ite back to Naruto, the boy looked at the shiny new-looking metal protector and could actually see his reflection in it. "Anyway, no charge today, Uzumaki-kun. But if you see Tenten, tell her to hurry home. The dishes are awaiting their savior tonight." That got them both to laugh, and Naruto bowed again before darting off, his new hitai-ite firmly held in one hand as his stomach finally growled loudly. Up for about the entire past 24 hours or more since the exam, he had two things left to do today- sleep was one.

But ramen was the other! And in a battle between sleep and ramen, in the young blonde's head, there was only one decided victor.

***

"Alright then, jounin sensei to be. We should now go over your choices for your teams. Though, I think one student requires a quite... dedicated touch." the voice of the Hokage was kept low, of course, in part due to his unfortunate smoking habit, exacerbated by the fact that he actually held a lit pipe between his lips at the same time. Flipping between the sheets of the 27 or so youths that had passed the academy exam this month, he had to choose carefully as to which one was the one he was going to pick out. Finally, his fingers came to a sheet without a picture on it.

"Uchiha, Sasuke. The last survivor of his clan, as we are all well aware. Unfortunately, we have but one jounin amongst us capable of instructing the boy on his latent abilities when they finally do manifest. Hatake, he is your student by default." The Hokage fixed the lazy, one-eyed jounin with a stare, and almost groaned as he noted that Kakashi was already reading his precious Icha Icha book. Second volume, he could tell, from the title that wasn't covered by the jounin's hand as he held it aloft. He wasn't alone as he shook his head at the lack of attention being paid, even as the jounin glanced up and gave his trademark smile hidden behind the mask. The one eye that could be seen showed the same smile, however.

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

The old man sighed and looked amongst the others, automatically giving out a few student files to various other jounin sensei. Pausing as he came to a certain kunoichi, he shifted his attention to one of the few jounin kunoichi that were in the room. "Hyuuga, Hinata. She is now your student, Yuhi-san. I believe the two of you know each other?" The kunoichi nodded grimly, and the Hokage smiled. "Good, that will make it easier for her to know a familiar face as her sensei. Now, let's see..."

More time passed as he assigned other students to more teachers, and then the basis of the individual team's was down to one last jounin. "Sarutobi, Asuma." The Hokage grinned as he saw his son start and shook his head. "Nara, Shikamaru and Akimichi, Choji, will be on your team. It is up to you, but I would recommend Ino Yamanaka for your team as well. We all know how well the previous trio did, so it would be worth it to try once again."

Asuma nodded. "I'll take Yamanaka then, Hokage-sama." _Great, I get a slacker, a glutton, and one of the biggest loudmouths as well._ He smirked._ This should be entertaining._

With that, he looked over the remaining sheets, handing the three that Asuma had now to the younger Sarutobi. That left a fair number to choose from, a total of 16 remaining. "Other than Asuma, I recommend that the rest of you look over the remaining students and choose who you would like to have round out your teams. Also, remember that each team should be balanced." A glance over the 8 remaining sensei told him that they had already begun to weed out the potentials for their various teams... other than Kakashi. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Hiruzen shook his head and sat back to let them all look over the papers.

Several were snatched up quickly. Mostly, the more above-average and average shinobi and kunoichi were chosen first, including Shino Aburame by Kurenai. Hiruzen could tell from her choices that she was looking for a team that would be mostly specialized in some sort of reconnaissance work. It was a good goal, but he had taken a good look at every student profile that had come in on those papers and knew there would likely be some sort of issues between the two that the genjutsu specialist had chosen. Though compared to others... it wasn't too much of an issue, so far.

It wasn't until the stack of papers had fallen half in height that Hatake seemed to finally notice what was going on, looking up from his Icha Icha novel to look amusedly at the other jounin-sensei who had by now finalized their own possible teams by stacking their papers in their laps. "Ah... Hm. Who do we have left, eh? Anyone interesting?" the one-eyed wonder asked aloud, glancing to the remaining papers on the Hokage's table. There was a flash of recognition in his eye, and it didn't take a genius to realize that he had quite likely seen Naruto Uzumaki's profile. "Ano? I thought this gaki didn't make the grade yesterday. Did he somehow manage to slip his paper into stack, Hokage-sama?"

That question gathered a few laughs amongst the other Jounin, but the Hokage shook his head seriously. "No. He passed this early morning by assisting Iruka Umino in capturing Mizuki. He was a traitor and is now entertaining Morino." Hatake took another look at the paper- no sign of that at all on it, let alone any techniques that might've been able to be helpful in a battle. _That 'Sexy Jutsu' sounds interesting, but could it have been useful in a battle? Doubtful._

Fortunately for Kakashi, there was another interested party in this story. "Hokage-sama, how did Uzumaki help a chuunin to apprehend this Mizuki?" Kurenai Yuhi requested, to which the Hokage smiled.

"Simple, really. Perhaps you have all heard about his latest prank from last night... namely, sneaking into my home and stealing a scroll of forbidden jutsu?" The group nodded as a whole, other than Kakashi. _This brat managed to sneak into the third Hokage's very house and made it out with a scroll? How is that even possible?_ "Well, it turns out that Mizuki tricked him into doing it, promising him that if he mastered even one of the jutsu on the scroll that he would allow Naruto to pass the exam to become a genin."

Kurenai shook her head, even as several other jounin in the room snickered at the thought of a shortcut being allowed. "Allow me to continue. After I dispatched ANBU to apprehend the boy, it took hours for any to even find him. It was finally Iruka, the boy's teacher, who found him in the forest. According to their report, Iruka attempted to protect the boy until he could get back to the village, but..."

"Protect him? The demon-child?" one jounin exclaimed angrily, standing up with his shoulders squared. Hiruzen glared at the objector, and the man silently sat back down, though the protest that had erupted had its effect on the rest of the room.

"Yes, he attempted to protect him. Even saved him from a deadly strike from a large shuriken that the traitor used." The old timer decided not to bore them with the minor details, such as the badly-timed motivational speech solely for the boy's benefit, but at least a few jounin had to at least respect the deed. "The boy then demonstrated, successfully, his mastery of one of the forbidden jutsu and proceeded to 'disable' the traitor. Let us say that Mizuki was unable to walk under his own power after the boy was through with him." The stunned silence that came into being was shattered by the sound of a paperback book landing on the floor a moment later.

Kakashi picked up the book quickly and pocketed it. "A mere student, not even a genin. Uzumaki managed to learn one of the forbidden jutsu? Which one?"

Hiruzen fiddled with his pipe for a moment, taking out some tobacco and refilling the end of it before lighting it with a match. He barely hid back the smile as the jounin seemed to wait with baited breath... the suspense in the air was almost palpable, he had to admit. Even Asuma looked interested, despite already having a full three-student team. He took a deep inhale of the pipe, and then blew out a slow, steady stream of smoke for several seconds. Finally, after almost half a minute of them waiting, he shrugged. "Kage bunshin no jutsu. He managed to create a very large number of clones, perfectly, and defeated his own Taijutsu instructor from the academy."

The Third Hokage just watched in amusement as the instructors considered this new information. _Still, the boy is the container of the demon-fox. It is very unlikely that anyone would just take the boy for their team, despite his mastery of that technique. Far too many see him as the demon, and not the shinobi he could become. Sometimes, I wonder if I did the right thing for him, and for the fourth, by passing that law..._

Then, a hand settled upon the paper and drew it up so that the owner could read it.

"I'll take him for my team."


	2. Chapter 2

The Steel Path

by macross_green

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto (the setting, characters, etc).

**Author's Note**: Wow. Quite the reception for my story, I'm rather pleasantly surprised. I knew Naruto was popular, but to be honest I hadn't thought it was still this huge.

**Chapter 2**

Sarutobi blinked. "You'll take him? He doesn't seem to have the qualities that your team so far would seem to be looking for, Yuhi-san." The kunoichi shrugged, and returned Shino Aburame's profile paper to the pile of waiting, would-be genin. Then the red-eyed woman smiled slightly.

"True, Hokage-sama, but he seems perfect to be molded into whatever role a teacher could give him. I have looked in on Hinata Hyuuga from time to time while she was at the academy, and I found some... interesting things about this class of would-be genins. This Uzumaki..." and she looked at the page. What it didn't tell was one fact that she knew first-hand: the boy had been sparring with an actual genin while in the academy, just about every week. And considering the genin he sparred with was a kunoichi in Gai-sensei's team? "Strictly average-grade taijutsu, up from the worst in the academy within a year's time. His kunai and shuriken accuracy went up from near the bottom of his class to very nearly the fifth in his class. He seems to have a possible flair for ninjutsu. And he defeated his taijutsu teacher, no small feat for just about anyone, I think. As for his other grades, well, I can think of reasons for them."

The Hokage nodded, and Kakashi hesitated for a moment before turning his gaze back to his book. "The other reason is simple. One cannot have a team that is too specialized, or that team may be overpowered in one way or another." Kurenai looked around to the rest of the mostly male-populated room and then looked back to the Third. "I would rather have a balanced team with an emphasis on a certain mission type in mind."

"You sure? I mean, balance issues aside, you have a Hyuuga girl on your list as well, Yuhi-san. Hiashi isn't known for playing nice either with his own daughter or with anyone that isn't a clan member of some sort," Asuma asked with a cigarette hanging from his lips all the while. How it remained in place, most in the room had suggested at one time or another was simply some custom jutsu that the man must've perfected while a genin or something. "Do you think it's wise to have the jinchuuriki so close to the possible Hyuuga heiress?"

Kurenai just nodded again. "Yes. From my observations, the girl is rather close to Uzumaki's skill level, though certainly stronger in taijutsu form and quite possibly in ability, considering her clan." _Though Hiashi might not agree with the route I may take his daughter along when it comes to being a ninja. He wants a warrior, not a ninja. Or some bastardization of the two._ She left unsaid, but Asuma just nodded thoughtfully in response.

Hiruzen shrugged. The old man knew much about the going-ons in Konoha, and in a way his own 'eyes' saw more than even the Hyuuga's Byakugan did. He knew, for the most part, how Hiashi treated not only his family but the rest of his clan as well, and his attitude towards those of other clans (or of no clan at all) was practically public knowledge even to civilians. "I have no objections. I am intrigued by the team you wish to put together, however. Who else would you want on your team to fill in the last position?"

Kakashi, meanwhile, was going over what he could do in his mind with his team of, so far, merely one would-be genin. _Who would work well with Sasuke Uchiha?_ It was something that he hid, of course, while 'reading' the small book in his hand. A casual glance over at the few student papers that remained told him that there were a few clan kids that would probably work alright with the Uchiha... and his mask hid a slight smirk on his face as he noticed one kunoichi that had yet to be chosen. _A Haruno girl. Hm. Well, the Haruno wouldn't be as troublesome as a Yamanaka... I think. _

His gaze shifted over to two other papers that remained, one being that of Shino Aburame and the other being Kiba Inuzuka. _Hm. One has a reputation for being a loudmouth and the other's an Aburame._ As he considered the choices, Kurenai reached out towards the desk and slipped one of the papers off of it. "Hokage-sama, I would like to have these individuals upon my Team." The Hokage nodded slightly.

"Very well. Hatake, I believe that leaves you with your team as a result as well," the old man stated blandly, but he could guess that that trio would likely result in some serious issues when things came to an end. Kakashi nodded in acknowledgment, and agreement, taking the leftover pages. "Excellent," The Hokage commented, giving them all a smile. "Number yourselves off, please, and those will be your team names for now. I look forward to your reports on the true Genin test that each of you will be giving them."

The Jounin left, Kakashi taking Team 7, Kurenai taking Team 8, and Asuma winding up with Team 10 as they walked out the door. There was some laughter from the various jounin as they confided with each other about what types of torturous hells that they would wind up giving their new 'students'. Kurenai just smiled and nodded, while Asuma headed off to another area of the tower to smoke at. Kakashi just kept walking as he read his book, his other hand clutching the three profile papers of the wannabe ninja that were now in his team. _What have I done to deserve these three?_

"Yuhi-san, stay a moment, if you pleas,." the voice of the Hokage spoke, and the jounin waited just inside his office as requested as the others left. Left alone with the kunoichi, he motioned for her to shut the door and the formed the seals for the protection of the room from eavesdroppers and other possible forms of espionage. A click, and the door was locked. "I wish to speak with you about Naruto Uzumaki, Kurenai-san."

The jounin kunoichi nodded, and sat down when she was bade to do so. "What role do you believe you can see Uzumaki in within your team? As I commented, he would not be well suited for a reconnaisance team at this time. We both know that his entire attitude, let alone his attire would not allow him to do well in such positions." Kurenai inclined her head, having to agree with the Hokage on this issue.

"His outfit is atrocious, indeed, Hokage-sama. Orange has no place on a shinobi in such an occupation as my team will be filling. But then, he and his team do need to pass the genin test before I can do much more than just speculate." The kunoichi smiled. "But I believe that between the three that I have chosen for team eight, they will pass the test. He will need new clothes, that is for certain, but I am certain that I am not the only one to realize that he is banned from more establishments in Konoha than he is allowed into."

Sarutobi nodded. She was correct, the boy was run out of just about any shop in the hidden village. In fact, he had seen how the boy had managed to purchase the orange outfit he sported now. The sales clerk had been ranting and raving as others looked on in amusement at the garish clothing that had been sold to the container of the kyuubi. Little did the boy know that he had been charged at least three times the original amount for the outfit, scammed by that same clerk and thereby painting a huge, easily recognizable target on the boy with a bright color that no ninja should allow themselves to wear on a normal basis. "Fortunately, this issue is being dealt with, Yuhi-san. The boy has an inheritance that one day he may become aware of, if he survives to do so."

"An inheritance? Who would he get anything from that isn't a death attempt?" Kurenai asked, and the Sandaime shook a finger at her before smiling.

"S-class village secret, just like what he is is a secret, Kurenai. At this time, I cannot tell you. It is enough to say that his monthly stipend is a part of it and that I have arranged for him to acquire a gift of respectable shinobi clothes." Kurenai nodded, and Hiruzen shrugged. "After this, however, there is little that can be given to the boy anymore until he reaches another stage of his life... which I will not mention here or now." The old man glanced to a clock on the wall, realizing that it was almost time for the delivery to be made. Looking back to Kurenai, he smiled again. "How indeed do you know about his taijutsu practices? Tenten has been an exceptionally good influence on the boy, despite being Gai's pupil."

Both the Hokage and Yuhi chuckled a little at the thought. "To answer your question, I was watching the Hyuuga heiress one night in the training grounds. Before going home for the evening, she found herself watching Naruto and Tenten sparring and practicing their kunai and shuriken throwing techniques. The girl also seemed to learn something from those, if her grades in those same areas going up coincides with Naruto's own gains are any indication."

"Do you make it a practice to look in on the academy's students, Yuhi?"

She shook her head. "No, not all the time. But I knew Hinata from when I first took her to the academy, Hokage-sama, and I realized that my becoming a jounin sensei the same year as she graduated might allow her to be on my team."

The Hokage nodded slightly, and looked to his pipe. "Is that the only reason?" Kurenai blinked at that question, and he couldn't help but to smile at her surprise.

"N...no, not the only reason, I suppose. She reminds me somewhat of... another student I had once," she admitted, and Hiruzen had to think about that for a moment before he nodded in understanding. "After taking her to the academy long ago, I could tell to some extent about her family, Hokage-sama."

"And what is that?"

This time, it was the kunoichi's turn to smile wryly. "It is Hyuuga clan business, and I cannot interfere, so I would rather not say, Hokage-sama." _But, I still cannot bring myself to like any of them for how she is obviously treated._ The Sandaime's eyes closed and he nodded once.

"Understood. I see no issue with your team choices, Yuhi-san. But if you find anything... unusual about Uzumaki, it must be reported quickly and quietly. Directly to me, not to anyone else." The Hokage's voice dipped lower, and the kunoichi had to fight a shiver as the aura of his very being seemed to make itself quite directly known to the woman. It was all she could do to simply nod in acknowledgment. "I am certain you know of what I am speaking of."

This time, she nodded concisely and he watched her for a moment before he gave a slow nod as well. The feeling of the presence subsided almost immediately. "Thank you. And I apologize for doing that, but some have been... less than forthcoming regarding Naruto. Especially some of the older jounin." _And ANBU, chuunin, new genin..._ The old man thought to himself, though he didn't allow his pleasant mask to subside to show such worry to the kunoichi before him. "I saw your last choice for your team... are sure that student is a good choice? I would have thought you might have gone with the Aburame."

This time, Kurenai smiled as she stood up. "Hai, I am certain. This one's abilities will help to shore up both Hinata and Naruto's deficiencies, I believe. Now if you'll excuse me, Hokage-sama, I should go and prepare my own Genin test for the three kids." A nod was given, and the protection jutsu was released as the Kunoichi neared the door. "Good day, Hokage-sama." she told him, bowing politely to the old man as he sat behind the desk.

Finally starting in on the pipe finally, now that the meeting was officially over. Taking a few puffs, he sighed and gave a side-glance to the large stack of papers and the rubber seal stamp that he had to use on them. _Now back to the hard part of the job._

***

It was almost nine o'clock in the morning when finally the sun rose far enough to wake the sleeping blonde. After yesterday's long night and subsequent long day, the last thing he remembered was the seven bowls of ramen (three miso, two pork, and two beef) before he went to his apartment in a daze. Getting out of the bed, the would-be Hokage managed to not stumble over any of the stuff that normally littered the floor these days. He blinked at the realization that his bare feet hadn't hit any ramen cups, plastic forks, nothin'. _What the heck?_ Eyes slowly opening, he could barely focus even as his feet, on auto-pilot, guided him into the bathroom. It was the daily routine... though typically, it was ramen first. Lucky for him that his mind was so tired that the signals from his stomach weren't quite hitting the head yet.

Halfway through the shower, on the other hand, and it did.

Brushing his teeth after toweling off and getting more or less dressed, he was about to start filling the pot in the sink when there was a trio of sharp raps on the door. Groaning, the short blonde hurried to the door and looked out the peep-hole. _Is it the damned neighbor kids with another of their pranks?_ He wondered, almost hoping it was. _Getting back at those guys is always fun._ But when he didn't see anyone there, he did notice a brown packaged box with his name on an envelope. Frowning, he unlocked the door and glanced about. There was a tall man that was walking down the hall towards the stairs, wearing some sort of brown uniform. _No sign of the kids. Guess this isn't a prank._ _I hope not anyway. I barely got that explosive tag out of the apartment before it blew up last time._

That one hadn't been a prank, even Naruto knew that. Every so often, there were attempts on his life in such a manner... Ramen packages and cups laced with poisons ranging from ex-lax to much worse things like explosive tags. _Still can't believe those kids would waste good ramen like that._ Eying the brown package, he frowned, knelt down before picking it up, and took it into his apartment. Kicking the door shut behind him, he walked the package out to the balcony to open it- it was the safest place, he'd found, to open such anonymous... _Wait, there's an actual envelope? What the hell?_ He pulled the envelope off of it even as he set it down, feeling a cool breeze sweep past as he sat down to open it up.

Naruto,

This is something that your parents wished for you to have, if and when you decided to become a ninja and made it to Genin. I have no doubt that you will do so, and so I have sent this package a little early on their behalf.

-The Old Man.

P.S. Stop calling me Old Man!

_Huh. The old man sent me something? Well, I can trust him, I think. _Naruto thought about it for a moment. _Would anyone dare try using his name to mess with me?_ He frowned. _No... I don't think anyone would do that. Besides, this looks like his handwriting... doesn't it?_ He had to think about it, since he hadn't paid too much attention at all when the Hokage had last signed something for him. With a shrug, and a quick look around, he satisfied the urge to make sure no one was watching him. Then, it was off with the brown wrapping, tossed back inside (getting a fine for littering was not something he could afford!), and was rather surprised when a plastic bag fell out of his hands and onto the deck of the balcony.

He smiled a little bit. _New clothes!_ Up to his feet, he couldn't help but to let out a loud, "Yatta!" before heading back into his apartment, closing the door behind him so he could try it on.

Several minutes later, he couldn't help the smile that was on his face as he looked at the mirror in his small bathroom. The vest was a deep, almost chocolate brown color over a beige t-shirt, and the pants were simply the same color as his vest. Gray lining on the vest's various pockets and pouches and the pants made it so that the basic clothes didn't stand out nearly as much as his orange outfit, and yet provided a few off-colors that weren't overpowering at all when someone might look at him. _But... it's not orange. There's not even any blue!_ Not even the belt, which was a deep gray color that fit well with the pants and shirt, was any sort of stand-out color.

Frowning, he looked back to the packaging. These were brand new, and the price tags were nowhere to be seen. _Can't take 'em back to wherever the old man got 'em. Oh well._ Then he blinked, then scowled. _He planned it this way. Damn it old man!_ Naruto shrugged, taking the trash to the can and then going back to his old outfit to start transfering his ninja tools before he remembered what Yenta-san had told him the day before. _Well, I have plenty of time... I wonder if I could find Tenten after I get what Yenta mentioned yesterday, maybe get some training in or something. He did mention giving her a surprise after all._

Finishing with tucking his kunai into the pouches that rested near waist-level on his new pants, he flicked the pouch covers closed. The pants actually looked like they didn't have anything in them, while in fact there were a good half a dozen kunai in each. Shuriken were set in pouches on his arms and belt, while he grinned at the way that the shirt and vest didn't hinder his movement at all. _The old man sure knows his stuff._ Naruto smiled as he headed for the door, forgetting about breakfast as he locked up behind him and walked on toward the stairs, and then out of the apartment building before his stomach started complaining. After a quick consultation with gama-chan, it was off to Ichiraku's for a quick brunch.

"I hope you guys have a batch ready, because I want two bowls of miso to start and two of pork to finish, Teuchi-san!" came his battle cry, ducking under the overhanging flap of the ramen stand, much to the laughter of the old man behind the counter.

"Naruto! Good to see ya again," the man said, looking over his shoulder to see the kid that could probably put his kid through the academy on his money alone. "And you look a lot better than yesterday. Guess you got plenty of sleep, huh?"

Naruto grinned and nodded. "Yeah. Guess I was really tired after I left yesterday. I just woke up a little while a... hm? Why're you looking at me like that, Teuchi-san?" the blonde asked, the older man looking at him shocked.

"No orange! Those fit you better, Naruto." the ramen cook commented, which seemed to be what drew his daughter from the back and to the counter. "Ayame-chan, take a look at Naruto here. I think he spent so much money on clothes that he's trying to hold back on his ramen." The family laughed while Naruto looked around embarrassed at the attention.

"Well now, Naruto-kun, you do look better in that than in orange. Though now we'll have to look twice when we see someone running here to make sure it's you." Ayame teased, and Naruto had to grin at that. "Still..." she continued, even as she got the order that Naruto had asked for, motioning for the ,kid to get onto the stool at the counter as she set his first two bowls of ramen down in front of him. "I guess there aren't that many blondes around, so we should just look for your hair, huh?"

"Better believe that. Only other blonde in my class was Yamanaka, and she's one of the Uchiha's fangirls." he agreed with Ayame-chan, and then shrugged. There were others, though he didn't know their names or even cared. Those guys were as bad as the villagers normally were to him after all. Picking up the chopsticks, he broke the wooden pieces apart. "Itadakimaaasu!"

And with that, Teuchi and Ayame knew better than to try and interrupt an eating Naruto when he wasn't eating a large number of bowls. It seemed strange, how they knew that when he only had a few bowls that he was in a hurry, but if he order more than half a dozen then he was definitely going to take his time to savor the different flavors. But one thing was for certain: no one could ever figure out how he could possibly eat so much ramen in one sitting, regardless of how many bowls he ate.

***

"Pull!"

"Tenten, for the last time, there's no pulling involved," Neji stated, to which the bun-haired girl just gave her teammate a slightly annoyed look.

_Well, duh. But it was appropriate._ "Yeah, I know," she replied, then looked over to Lee as he hesitated to throw the discus into the air. "Okay, launch it!" she told the bowl-cut taijutsu specialist. Lee nodded and spun in place without saying anything for once... at least, not loudly. Three spins, four, and then he fired it off, the discus launched at high speeds into the air in the direction of the forest of death. Tenten grinned and four kunai, two from each hand, flashed out and struck the discus before it could get too far and out of her range. The discuss wobbled as one kunai nicked it, and then the middle two took out the edges. The last one, however, slammed right through the clay discus and it shattered into thousands of shards that fell to the earth below it.

"Excellent, Tenten. Your accuracy and throwing speed are quite remarkable." Gai-sensei said from near Lee, handing his youthful apprentice and student the next clay disc to be thrown aloft.

"You should wear more weights, Tenten-san. You would only get stronger and faster even quicker than you get now," Lee commented, though a flick of her Kunai got him to shut up about it enough that he got the idea to toss the disc. When he did, this time she threw two kunai, underhanded, at the same time. The disc exploded once again.

"I need to be able to move my body, Lee. I already have some weights right now, so I want to get used to them before I increase them." she told him. _I'm not a psycho when it comes to training like you two are._ She left unsaid, even as Neji disappeared to reclaim the kunai that she had shattered discs with. She had many kunai, and right now even more weapons of all sorts with her in her opened storage scroll, but Neji didn't have the ability to pick up every kunai that she could throw. Instead, he was playing gopher today, though only for a little while longer before it was her turn to assist him with his training. _For as cold as he is towards everyone, I can't believe he's willing to do something like this for us._

Gai glanced towards where Neji had disappeared off to, and then looked back to his remaining students. "Since only Tenten can truly assist Neji with his jyuuken form, Lee, we will be training together again for most of the day. Tenten, assist Neji until you are both exhausted, and then you two are dismissed. Understood?"

"Hai, Gai-sensei." Tenten replied, giving a smile to the spandex wearing man. Of course, she tried to keep her eyes off the older man's choice of 'clothes', but the stretchy suit always bothered everyone that set eyes upon their sensei. With a cry of something regarding youth that Tenten expertly tuned out, he got onto his hands and started walking away from the training ground. Lee was soon following him as Neji returned with nearly three dozen kunai in his hands and arms, moving to stand near Tenten as their teacher and the special genin hand-walked away.

"Truly, I will never be able to understand either one of them." Neji commented quietly, and Tenten giggled. He glanced to her and gave the barest flicker of his lips turning up into a smile before his mask crashed down like a guillotine blade. At that point, she started storing away the kunai into her scrolls again.

The kunoichi grinned. "Yeah, it's a lot easier to understand Naruto than it is those two." Neji blinked, and Tenten smirked. "Well, mostly, anyway."

The Hyuuga prodigy just looked at her as if she'd beaten an Akimichi in an eating contest. Then he shook his head. "I do not even want to know. Anyway, I found something interesting in a scroll last night. I barely had a peek, but... I think I can figure it out. I will need a lot of help though, Tenten."

The dark haired girl nodded at his words. "Well, if you want to be a pincushion, Neji, I'm always willing to provide the pins."

They shared a grin. "Tenten, here's what I saw..."

***

It took a double-take for most of Konoha's residents to recognize the boy that strode through the village. Even the ANBU that had been assigned to keep tabs on the jinchuuriki had had to do so- the boy still had his characteristically huge smile, but the clothes? No one expected that big of a change in the boy. His shoulders were lifted high rather than slumped like they were when he normally walked. His entire being seemed to be bursting with three times as much energy as he typically showed to anyone. And yet, despite all that, he was actually behaving himself. Even Kiba, who he passed in the streets walking with Akamaru was immediately worried that there was a prank about to be pulled on everyone.

_No pranks today. Gotta be good until the ceremony tomorrow. And the picture, I can't forget about that! Hm, where's Yenta-san's place again?_ Naruto glanced about. He was in one of the nicer neighborhoods this time, and he could tell because of the fact that he could smell the flowers nearby. Most of the houses didn't have flowerbeds, but there was one shop nearby that did, and sold even more of them. "Ah, Ino's place. So, where's... Got it!" and the blonde turned to the left, heading towards an alleyway that he remembered would take him in the right direction.

It took about fifteen minutes at a moderate walking pace for the blonde to make it to Yenta's smithy. The old man wasn't anywhere to be seen- instead, a younger teenager was out front with a bucket of water, scrubbing down Yenta's street sign. "Hey, is Yenta-san here already?" Naruto asked as he walked up, the kid glancing over his shoulder to see him.

"Yeah, who should I say is 'ere?" the kid asked. He was several years older than Naruto, a good foot taller at least and definitely a little on the heavy side. _No ninja, but I bet he's workin' here for a reason anyway._

"Naruto Uzumaki's the name." the blonde informed the teenager, who just nodded slightly. There'd been a flash of recognition in the guy's eyes, but the employee was quick to hurry into the shop to get his boss. _I wonder if he knows what I am, or if it's just because I've pulled so many pranks?_ Naruto couldn't help but to wonder about that. _I mean, now I know why the adults hate me. I can guess why the kids hate me. I've pulled lots of pranks._ It was a sobering thought, and his smile faltered for a moment as he moved to lean against the wall of the shop, but still within sight of the doorway that Yenta would most likely emerge from.

_Why am I even thinking this?_ He asked himself and then mentally kicked himself as he smiled again. _I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I'm the greatest prankster in Konoha. I don't get into much trouble by the Old Man at all no matter what I do. So... _His hands swept over his new clothes. _Yeah, there's a reason I'm thinking about it._ The blonde tried to consider whatever that reason was, but he found a headache starting in his mind instead. "Dang it." he muttered.

"Naruto, is that you?" came a familiar voice, and the blonde glanced over to the doorway that Yenta had come out of. He grinned.

"Yep! Got some new clothes today, since I know I'm gonna need 'em tomorrow. Gotta look good for the picture, ya know."

The older man chuckled. "Yes, that is a good point, Naruto. Now, hang on for a moment out here, I'll have what I promised you in second, okay?" Yenta told him, and when Naruto nodded, the smithy boss disappeared again. The teenager returned a moment later, a new cloth in his hand and started working on the soot-splotched sign once more while the would-be genin waited. Good to his word, Yenta returned with a large box in his arms, and he grinned as he motioned the blonde over. "You're a little young to start learning kenjutsu, Naruto, since you haven't hit a growth spurt yet. But I think I've got a few things here that you could use."

Yenta set the box on the counter and pulled the lid off, even as Naruto came to see what was inside. What he saw made his jaw drop, and Yenta grinned at the boy's reaction. "These are for you, Naruto. They may be a little long for you, but I think you'll grow into them quickly enough." Naruto glanced up at the man and he just nodded to emphasize the point. The boy reached inside and pulled out the oddly shaped things, and looked at them curiously.

"What are they, Yenta-san?"

"Put them on, Naruto," the older man suggested, and Naruto nodded. He took off his fingerless gloves and pulled on the new ones- the fingertips were exposed only up to the first knuckle, and they were oddly heavier than his old pair, despite being barely larger. "Those are weighted gloves, kid."

Naruto frowned. "Weighted? They don't weigh that much more than the other pair, Yenta-san."

Yenta grinned. "I know, and that's why they're perfect for you. They weigh more for several reasons. One, they're elastic, so you can wear them for a few more years at least. Another is that there's some metal backing in there. I'm sure you can feel it," at that, Naruto flexed his fingers and could actually feel the hard parts to the leather gloves pressing against his hands. He nodded. "Right. They aren't perfect, but they'll help you hit a little harder and they're good defensively too. It's not really armor, but it'd be a bad idea to give you armor before you're grown up anyway. Once you get used to them, they won't even interfere with throwing or picking anything up either. Anyway, those aren't all, Naruto," the old man said, and he reached into the box again, pulling out a smaller box filled with kunai. "Here's two dozen kunai for ya. Don't waste them all."

Naruto grinned at the sight of all the new kunai in the box. Just looking at the sharp, new blades on them told the boy that these were of a higher quality than his expensive ones that he was used to using. "Thanks, Yenta-san!" the blonde exclaimed, stepping back and bowing to the blacksmith. Then he was back to the box, stuffing a dozen total kunai into various pouches on his vest and pants.

"Don't mention it, Naruto. Come back any time, okay? And just ask for me, don't bother with people like Isaku."

Naruto nodded, his pouches crammed full with kunai now as he bowed to the older man. One kunai tried to escape a pouch, but the blonde quickly covered it in order to keep it in place, and ran off even as Yenta waved the boy away.

From a concealed spot on a nearby rooftop, one jounin made a decision that this is where her new team would be getting any of their ninja supplies from in the future.

***

"Hm. Hinata, are you certain that this is where he lives?" The short, meek little girl nodded. The woman that stood beside her sighed. "Alright. Remember, we are merely checking something out, Hinata. This is an infiltration mission. We get in, we scout, we get out with our information and our lives. Do not touch anything other than the floor. And try to stand downwind of any garbage can we find up there."

"Ah... Yuhi-san? He r-really isn't t-that bad." the small Hyuuga retaliated, and Kurenai shrugged.

Then she smiled as they both leapt up to the balcony. "Perhaps not, but many men are, Hinata. And this particular boy has no parents, nor does he live with anyone. The odds are quite high that there will be something here that will not be... well, clean. To say the least."

The jounin easily let herself in, picking the lock on the door. It was nothing fancy, just simple beyond belief. _It's a wonder that no ninja with a grudge have managed to kill the boy yet. Must be the Hokage's influence. Especially since..._ There was a soft thump on the hardwood floor just inside the doorway, and Kurenai just rolled her eyes. _Fainting just by seeing a boy's room. She has got to get out of the Hyuuga compound more often._ Sighing, the genjutsu specialist knelt down to pick up the fallen genin-to-be. "Hinata-chan, wake up. We don't have time for this."

The girl just remained in a faint and Kurenai shook her head. _Time for more drastic measures._ Her hands shook the girl like a rag doll for a moment to no avail, and then she smirked as the perfect plan came to mind. Her hands wove the seals for a genjutsu, and there was a loud sound, as if a door had just been slammed somewhere within the apartment. "Shit! Hinata, wake up, Naruto's home!" she hissed urgently, and at that point Hinata gasped, her eyes opening and she stood up faster than she'd fallen before dashing out the way she came, jumping down from the balcony and glancing one way, then the other, before settling on a hiding spot against the side of the building underneath the balcony.

Kurenai just grinned and decided to leave her soon to be student outside while she went on a search for the remnants of the package that had been delivered that morning. It took her only a minute to find it, and she pulled out the package that hadn't arrived in time to be delivered earlier. _I can't believe the Hokage is paying us for a C-rank mission just for this!_ Setting the last brown package in the bathroom with a note from the Hokage on it like the last one, she went about looking for the second objective of the day in the apartment.

It took even less time to find this one. Tucking the targets into a brown sack that she'd been ordered to bring with her as part of the assignment, she tied it shut as the two pieces were enveloped by the sack, and she locked the door to the balcony on her way out. Jumping down, she gave the Hyuuga girl a nod and the two were off to the Hokage's tower.

***

Naruto shook his head as he left Konohamaru on the training grounds. The boy had a lot to work on, but Naruto knew that anyone who wasn't a Hokage had a lot to work on. But he grinned as he headed back into town, shaking his head as he stopped to watch two guys in some stretchy spandex, sweating enough to leave a trail of moisture behind them while they walked on their hands past him. The taller, older one with the bowl cut kept shouting encouragement and something dealing with youth to his younger clone, who was starting to lag behind. _Sometimes, Konoha has the weirdest ninja._

"Naruto!" he heard from behind and quickly the boy jumped to the side. A trio of Kunai struck the ground that had been at his feet, and another trio of shuriken bounced off the ground that he landed on after his first jump, but not before he managed to roll out of the way on the ground. Groaning, he looked back at his attacker, only to see Tenten there with a grin and her hands full of senbon this time. "You are getting better. I even aimed higher this time." she complimented.

"Tenten, did you have to thro..." the look that Tenten gave him surprised him. "Huh?"

The kunoichi walked up and looked at the clothes that he was wearing closely. "Hm, you do look better now. Might miss the orange, but at least now you won't be mistaken for a fire hydrant or anything." She squated down to about the height of a fire hydrant to emphasize her point and grinned. Naruto groaned.

"Yeah, yeah. If you weren't sure it was me, why did you aim higher? You might've hit someone who, well, wasn't me, ya know?"

The older girl shrugged. "You're the only kid our age with blonde hair who'd have a reason to be on the training grounds, Naruto. You'd know that if you paid attention in class." Then she grinned. "And congrats on passing the test, Naruto. I saw what happened yesterday at the Hokage's tower. You beat Mizuki?" she asked, and Naruto grinned back.

"Yeah, you should've been there Tenten! I actually mastered this really cool jutsu, and I saved Iruka-sensei with it. Mizuki didn't stand a chance," The boy's grin faltered for a second. "Stupid traitor." he muttered, and then grinned again. Tenten grinned as she listened while picking up her kunai and going to get her scattered shuriken before coming back over to him.

"Is Iruka-sensei alright? Is he still in the hospital?" she asked him. She knew that Iruka had been one of the nicest teachers in their classes, and had actually missed him when the classes had been split apart. It was good to know that the man survived Mizuki's attack and that he had saved Naruto... and vice-versa.

Naruto nodded. "Should be getting out soon though. I was planning on going to get him and buying ramen for dinner. Wanna come along?"

"Sure thing. After all, you're buying, right?"

"Hey!"

An hour later, the trio were at Ichiraku's ramen stand and Naruto's gama-chan was already starting to complain about the number of bowls that it was going to have to support. It was getting dark out, which meant that pretty soon all the kids would have to be indoors. Although this was a hidden village, and Konoha had more freedom than many others for its residents, there was a mandatory curfew for children to be inside their homes by a certain time. "Remember Naruto, you'll have to get to the Hokage's Tower early tomorrow, before school, so you can get your picture taken again."

Tenten glanced over from above what little remained of her bowl of miso ramen even as Naruto had to choke down his latest bite before he could respond. "How did you know about that, Iruka-sensei?" he asked, and Iruka smirked.

"I've been your teacher for a few years, Naruto. I may only be a chuunin, but even I could tell that you had some crazy idea in store for picture day today. So what was it... a mask? Or did you try to henge for your picture?"

_Hah! I had a better idea than both of those combined!_ "Nah. Just used face paint. It was a great design, too! And the picture was cool. But, the old man hated it though, so yeah, I gotta take the picture again tomorrow, like you said." Tenten giggled and Iruka laughed.

"Anyway, Naruto, what's with the new clothes? I thought orange was always going to be your color. The Orange Prankster, wasn't it?" Iruka asked this time, and Naruto grinned.

"The old man gave 'em to me, had 'em sent to my place this morning. And the Orange Prankster? Man, I haven't heard that since the first months at the academy, Iruka-sensei." The 12 year old shrugged. "Didn't get a jacket though, so I'll probably still wear the old one after today. It was pretty warm, so I didn't need it anyway."

Iruka nodded. _Probably payment for capturing Mizuki, I would think. And just a small way of keeping the boy alive too, I bet._ Always the teacher, the older man led the charge as the three tipped their bowls up to drink the last of the broth, and the scarred chuunin looked to Tenten and then to Naruto. "Well kids, it's time for you to be getting back to your places."

"The bill first, Iruka-sensei." Teuchi commented, holding the object up for them to see. It was snatched from his hands by Naruto, who grinned.

"That'd be mine, Teuchi-san. My treat tonight." he exclaimed, and the loud-mouth was soon cleaning out gama-chan, much to the poor little wallet's sudden deflation. By the time enough ryo was pulled out, it looked like it had gone on a diet. "There we go."

"Thanks for the meal, Naruto." Tenten said to him, and she tilted her head to the side. "We probably won't get a chance to spar for a while, so you better not slack off any more than you already do, Naruto." The blonde grinned back at her.

"I don't slack off on training!"

"No, you just slack off on everything else." Iruka piped in, moving to stand.

"Hey!"

***

The next day was quick and easy, oddly enough. Naruto's retaken picture passed the Hokage's inspection, and then the blonde was off to his last morning at the Academy. Though they stared at his grinning face, the majority of the ex-students were simply staring at his forehead protector rather than the boy himself. _Guess they can tell I graduated too. Good, that means I don't have to tell 'em._

"Oi! Naruto, what the hell're you doing in here? Only people who passed the test are allowed in here today." one of the other to-be-genin asked before he could even sit down, which the questioner did in the second row to the back, to which Naruto rolled his eyes and pointed at the hitai-ite.

"I passed! Can't you see the protector?" was Naruto's happy response. _I'm in too good a mood to worry about idiots like that today!_ Giving the other student a grin, he walked to the back of the room and sat himself down next to Choji, who had the ever present bag of chips on the desk in front of him, and one hand that lazily fed himself.

The 'pleasantly chubby' boy stopped eating for a moment as Naruto sat down. "You passed, Naruto? How did you do that?" the tubby one asked and Naruto shrugged a little.

"I managed to use a Bunshin jutsu right and Iruka-sensei passed me after the exam." Naruto bragged, and he heard the sound of wooden chair legs hitting the floor.

"No, you were being troublesome again, Naruto. I heard about what happened. Just about everyone has by now, so you may as well spill it." stated the laziest boy in class- the slacker to end all slackers. The king of this group's slackers. Naruto shrugged at Shikamaru's comment.

"Fine. Anyone see Mizuki-sensei yet today?" Naruto snickered. "That's because I beat him up after I found out he was a traitor to Konoha." He couldn't help but to grin as Shikamaru just went back to reclining in his chair again. Choji just looked at him as if he'd told the tubby one that barbecue could be made in a toaster.

"Tch. No chance in hell of that, Naruto." came the disdainful voice of the 'prodigy' of the class, who had both Ino and Sakura surrounding him. Naruto turned around and glared at Sasuke Uchiha for a moment before shrugging. "Believe what you want, but the Hokage knows the truth. Or you could ask Iruka-sensei sometime."

The last Uchiha grunted and just looked away, all while his fangirls glared at the blonde, who just smiled and waved at the girl he liked. Sakura just looked grossed out and pretended to gag and puke before turning around when the door to the classroom opened, and in walked Iruka Umino.

Walking in front of the desks in the classroom, he did a quick head count and nodded. "Beginning today, you are all real ninjas," He smirked. "Genin-level, of course. You are merely rookies, and this is where the hard part begins," The chuunin teacher started to pace, glancing around at the various students that were once his. "Now, you'll soon be assigned duties by the village. So, today we will be creating three-person teams, or 'cells'. Each team will consist of three genins and one Jounin-sensei."

Iruka stopped in the center of the room again and turned to face the entire class once more. "You will follow that sensei's instructions as you complete your assigned duties." He waited a moment for that information to sink in, and a few of the new genin whispered to each other about it. Naruto just nodded slightly. _Glad Tenten told me about this already._

"Because of these three-person teams, we tried to balance each team's strengths. And weaknesses, of course," Iruka stated, and then pulled out a sheet of paper from his pocket, unfolding it and reading aloud. "Team 1..." and so the list continued.

"Team Seven. Sasuke Uchiha, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzuka."

A growl erupted from across the room as Kiba stood up. "Hey! Why did I get stuck with the Uchiha guy?" he demanded, and Iruka just shook his head.

"Again, you were place according to your strengths and weaknesses. While Uchiha is at the top of the class in all grades, you have some of the lowest grades..." Another growl interrupted the chuunin.

"But Naruto had the overall lowest grades!"

Iruka glanced up at Kiba and shook his head. "His grades were re-evaluated after the genin test and it was found that as of that very same night, he is no longer dead last in class. So, to be completely frank, you two tied." Iruka reported to the now stunned genin as laughter erupted around the entire classroom.

"Anyway. Team 8. Sakura Haruno, Hinata Hyuuga, and Naruto Uzumaki." Sakura looked as if she'd just been beaten down, but Hinata... well, her face was hidden by her hair, but almost anyone could see the rosy red glow that came from behind that deep blue veil. Iruka finished with the team lists a moment later, and glanced around. "Your new sensei will be here in the afternoon, so let's take a break 'til then."

***

**Author's Note**: Well hello there. I see that this seems to have become, for me, a bit of a breakaway hit. None of my other fics have ever had this kind of attention so quickly, so I'm rather shocked to say the least. Anyway, I've had lots of readers but only a handful of reviews so far. Please review! Also, don't expect me to be able to churn out a new chapter all that often. I'm on vacation right now from work, so I was able to carve this story out fairly quickly. It won't be so easily done after my vacation. So, you have been warned.


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